Register today and reserve your spot for the launch of our community organizer’s guide to Mobilizing on the Right to Housing for Women & Gender-Diverse People. This new toolkit will support the evidence- and testimony gathering for the upcoming National Housing Council’s Review Panel on Canada’s Failure to Eliminate Homelessness for Women & Gender-Diverse People.
Join us on October 10 at 1 p.m. ET (10 am PT) for the launch of our toolkit, Mobilizing on the Right to Housing For Women & Gender-Diverse People: A Community Organizer’s Guide.
Homelessness among women and gender-diverse people in Canada has been recognized as a national human rights crisis. The good news: in 2024, there will be a national human rights inquiry into the Government of Canada’s failure to prevent and eliminate homelessness amongst women and gender-diverse people. The National Housing Council announced on September 4 its three-person Review Panel.
The Review Panel will involve two components: written testimony and oral testimony during public hearings where women and gender-diverse people with lived expertise can testify.
The National Indigenous Women’s Housing Network and the Women’s National Housing & Homelessness Network has developed a toolkit to prepare ourselves and our communities to participate in this historic process.
The purpose of this Toolkit is to:
- Support lived experts and their allies to participate in the upcoming Review Panel
- Provide practical tools and templates to enable Review Panel participation
- Provide tools and diverse frameworks and mechanisms to enable community organizing on the right to housing
- Democratize knowledge about the right to housing in Canada and how to claim it
The Review Panel’s recent notice of intent announcement will be followed by the release of its Terms of Reference, which will outline the details and framework for the panel’s review–including timelines and information on testimony and evidence collection.
The toolkit’s launch on October 10 will begin critical human rights work! The WNHHN and NIWHN will soon launch a new website to support the training of Community Champions and make the toolkit as accesssible as possible.
Background
On June 14, 2022, the Women’s National Housing & Homelessness Network and the National Indigenous Women’s Housing Network submitted two Human Rights Claims to the Federal Housing Advocate. The claims spotlight violations of the right to housing experienced by marginalized women and gender-diverse people across the country, calling for immediate action. These claims were a result of convening with and working alongside many lived experts, peers, advocates, grassroots groups, scholars and organizations across Canada.
On March 7, 2024, the Council passed a motion to proceed with the review panel as requested by the Federal Housing Advocate, pursuant to Section 16.1 of the NHS Act. Members of the review panel were appointed by the Council based on their experience, knowledge, and interest related to the issue, pursuant to Section 16.2 (2) of the NHS Act.
On September 4, 2024, the Council released its notice of intent announcing the Review Panel on the Failure to Prevent and Eliminate Homelessness amongst Women and Gender-Diverse People has three appointed members who will lead the review. Learn more about the panel members leading the review.